Lieutenant General Terrill Samson saw came as a welcome
relief: Brad Elliott, Patrick McLanahan, and Air Force Major
Nancy Cheshire, alive and well. The Sky Masters, Inc., satel-
lite-based teleconference established a secure, real-time voice,
video, and datalink between several different offices around
the world: from U. Pacific Command headquarters at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, where he and Admiral William Allen, corn-
mander of U. Pacific Command, waited; the Joint Chiefs'
"Gold Room" Conference Center at the Pentagon in Wash-
ington, D.; all the way to the three aviators in a secure han-
gar at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam.
Samson let a long, deep sigh of relief escape his lips. "Good
to see you folks," he said.
"It's even better to be seeing you, sir," Cheshire responded.
"Believe me."
"I believe you, Major," Samson said with a wry smile.
"I'm very sorry about Lieutenant Vikram. My condolences to
all of you."
He paused respectfully for a few moments, which gave him
a chance to study the three on the videoconference monitor.
They all looked exhausted, absolutely bone-tired ... but Elliott
looked worse. Samson knew that Elliott had been hit by pieces
of windscreen and the windblast when the Chinese Sukhoi-33
fighters attacked; he could see a' bit of evidence of injury, but
lots of evidence of something else. Elliott looked whipped,
almost ragged; his breathing appeared labored, his lips slightly
204 DALE BROWN
parted -as if he were forced to breathe through his mouth to
get more air.
"What's happening now, Earthmover?" Elliott said. That
voice had the same cockiness in it-it sounded like the old
Brad Elliott. He didn't look so good, but the old fire and steel
was still in his voice and definitely still in his mental attitude.
"We're waiting for the Pentagon to jump in on the video-
conference," Samson said. "I'd like to ask a few questions
before the CNO or JCS comes in."
"No one is responsible for Emil's death or for what hap-
pened on this mission but me, sir," Patrick McLanahan said
immediately. It was very obvious that Patrick, as well as the
others on camera from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam,
had come right from the plane to the videoconference after
landing their crippled bomber. All were wearing wrinkled
flight suits, and had dark smudges under their eyes; the men
had ragged, unshaved faces. "I take full responsibility."
"Stand by one, Patrick," Samson intedected. "I didn't
think I'd need to remind you, since you've flown missions like
this before, but the reality of the situation is that no one is
re sponsible for what happened, because this incident never
happened, do you understand? Lieutenant Vikram died in the
course of his military duties-no other explanation is needed
or will be offered. If it becomes necessary, the government
will pick the most mundane, unexciting, plausible reason for
Emi.l's death, but it won't be necessary, because everyone in-
volved, from Vikram's family to,the President of the United
States, is legally and morally bound to keep their mouths shut
in the name of national security. If they don't, they will find
that the blame will fall on them. '
"This is also a good time to remind you folks that you are
volunteers in a completely black, highly classified government
program," Samson went on. "If you screw up, your identities
will be erased from all public or government records; if anyone
digs to find said records, they'll find the dead themselves at
fault. When you step on board that monster, you cease to exist,
and any memories of you will be manipulated by the govern-
ment that you sacrificed your life,to serve. So it does no good
to blame yourselves, because no one is going to accuse or
indict you-they will either forget you or deny you. Every-
body understand?"
No reply, not even nods, from the three aviators. They all
FATAL TER RAI N 205
knew that it was a screw job in the worst possible sense: they
were going to risk their lives for their country, and the best
forgotten by that same country, and that no one would ask any
questions about their deaths because the reply would trash their
reputations. "You also understand," Samson went on grimly,
"that you can excuse yourself from this project at any time,
without prejudice or harm to your careers?" Again no re-
sponse. "I take it that you all understand your rights and all
the realities here. Talk to me later if you like.
"We are going to be joined on this teleconference in a few
moments by a few other parties, but first I wanted to find out
how You guys are doing. I know it's hard on you because of
the loss of Lieutenant Vikram. I'm very sorry. Please, speak
up." There was no response. Samson gave them a few more
moments, then urged them, "You were just involved in a nu-
clear exchange. You went head-to-head with over fifty armed
Chinese warships. You saw hundreds of sailors get killed and
injured, some by your hand. Are you guys doing okay?"
"What do you want us to say, sir?" Nancy Cheshire finally
spoke out. "We got Emitter killed, and we got our butts shot
up. We stopped the PLAN, I think, but I don't know if it was
worth Emil getting killed. I have a feeling, when we hear from
JCS and CINCPAC, that the answer to that will be 'no.' "
"I'll give you an answer, Earthmover-we were hung out
to dry," Brad Elliott said angrily. "We were strung out by
you, by the Navy, by the White House. You sent us into a no-
win situation where the only way we could make a difference,
the only way we could'use the power we had at our command
to do some good, was to disobey orders."
"Brad, c'mon," McLanahan said wearily. "We're not ac-
cusing anyone right now. We knew what we were doing."
"Patrick's right, Brad-you knew the ame you were play-
ing long before wheels-up in Blytheville, Arkansas," Samson
said. "You knew you were going to be given a short leash.
You knew the brass didn't support you. You knew the Navy
didn't want you. But you launched anyway. Once over the
cover area, you could've just obeyed orders and watched Que-
moy get incinerated-but you acted. We're all going to pay
for that decision."
"We had to do what we did, sir," Cheshire said. "We
couldn'tjust sit back and watch."
7-
206 DALE BROWN
"Guys, I think it was a good decision to defend the Tai-
wanese ships and attack those Chinese ships-Emil Vikrarn
did not die in vain," Samson said. "But I think we're going
to get hammered for making it. What's done is done. I think
the Chinese were going to use those nukes over Quemoy any-
way, so everything that happened was bound to happen any-
way. As far as what happens to you ... well, we suck it up
a
nd move on. Hell, I might be submitting my application to
Jon Masters before the day's out."
"Wear a nice suit, Earthmover," Elliott said. "You're
gonna need it."
"We're not done here until I know that Lieutenant Vikram
didn't die for nothing," McLanahan said. "Support or not,
we're not leaving the theater until we know the PLAN isn't
going to keep on lobbing nukes at Taiwan or anyone else.
There's still no other U. forces nearby that can oppose
them--our five Megafortresses are the only heavy strike group
that can take on that carrier battle group."
"That decision will be made soon, Patrick," Samson said.
"I don't think you'll get what you want."
"Stop thinking like a staff puke and start thinking like a
warrior again, Earthmover," Brad Elliott said. "You might
learn something."
"Hey, Brad, you might want to cool your jets a little bit
before the brass gets on the bird," Samson said. "An attitude
like that won't win you any friends right now."
"We expect you to argue our case for us, sir," McLanahan
said. "Keep us in the theater until the President decides what
other forces he's going to send in."
"We're still operational, sir," Cheshire added. "Tell 'em
to send us back in. We've proven we can do the job. If a war
is going to start, if Quemoy is in danger of being invaded,
Taiwan will still need our help."
Samson shook his head, silently marveling at this group's
apparent cold-bloodedness. Young stupid heroes, he decided.
Flying into combat was all part of a day's work for them. Hell,
McLanahan was probably the most levelheaded one of the
group, and he was ready to take another Megafortress back
and twist the Chinese dragon's tail once again. "Your com-
ments are noted, guys. Do what you need to do on the ground
to get your damaged plane ready to fly, but CINCPAC wants
FATAL TER R AI N 207
patrols halted until they get the word from CINCPAC or the
Joint Chiefs."
"Oh, goodie," Elliott said sarcastically. -Hmmm. I wonder
what they'll say?"
"They'll ask, Brad, 'Who authorized the launch of those
Wolverine missilesT " Samson replied hotly. "They'll ask,
'How did Taiwan know our secure UHF synchronizer codesT
They'll ask, 'Was it was really necessary to launch attacks on
almost a dozen Chinese warships when it would've been easier
and safer for you to do as you were ordered to do, do a one-
eighty, and get the hell ouff
"You guys did a really great job out there," Samson con-
cluded, with a definite weariness in his voice. "You proved
that the heavy bomber, properly loaded with the right high-
tech weaponry, can do a variety of missions over vast distances
with speed, precision, and stealthiness. But you all know the
old maxim: one 'oh shit' will erase a hundred 'attaboys.' Sorry
to say it, but I think you're going to see the truth in that old
saying in just a few moments."
It stayed silent until an electronic tone warned the partici-
pants that new conferees were linking into the system: NOW
ENTERING THE CONFERENCE, DR. CHI-YANG SHIH, SECRETARY
GENERAL, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, OFFICE OF THE PRES-
IDENT, TAIPEI, REPUBLIC OF CHINA. NOW ENTERING THE CON-
FERENCE, ARTHUR CHASTAIN, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE,
WASHINGTON. CLASSIFICATION, TOP SECRET. ALL CONFEREES
NOTE, VOICE AND DATA IS NOW TERMINATED; CHECK OPERA-
TIONAL SECURITY, THEN ENTER YOUR SECURITY CODE TO CON-
TINUE. There was a slight pause as videoconference
administrators double-checked security for their rooms and
reentered their security codes; then the computer acknowl-
edged, THANK YOU. FULL VIDEOCONFERENCE FEATURES AC-
TIVATED.
"General Samson, folks, Dr. Chi-yang Shih asked to join
us for a few moments on this videoconference," Secretary of
Defense Chastain began. "Dr. Chi-yang, please go ahead."
"Thank you, Secretary Chastain," Chi-yang Shih said. Dr.
Chi-yang was in his late fifties but looked considerably
younger. He wore gold-rimmed round spectacles, making his
round face a pear even rounder, but his tailored suit gave him
a definite air of authority. "General Elliott, Colonel Mc-
Lanahan, Major Cheshire, it is indeed a pleasure to speak to
208 DALE BROWN
all of you. On behalf of President Lee Teng-hui and my fellow
citizens of the Republic of China, I wish to express my deepest
heartfelt gratitude from my nation for your work, and our
deepest sympathy for your loss of your fellow crew member.
Your efforts resulted in saving hundreds of lives on Quemoy
Tao. Because of you, the island's defenses are still viable. I
promise you, the prayers o millions of my people, and espe-
cially the prayers of sixty thousand of your fellow soldiers on
Quemoy Tao, will be with you and Lieutenant Vikram tonight
and for all time."
"Viable? How is that possible, sir?" McLanahan asked.
"The explosion ... ?"
"Was at an altitude of approximately eight kilometers and
at least fifteen kilometers south of the city of Shatou, thanks
to you and your fellow airmen," Chi-yang replied. "It appears
that the missiles fired from your aircraft destroyed the Chinese
M- II missiles while in flight, resulting in a partial-yield nu-
clear explosion, around the order of five to six kilotons. Dam-
age was limited to overpressure and did not include thermal
or blast damage, and we feel radiation deaths and casualties
will be minimal as well. Unfortunately, the crew of the Kin
Men was not as fortunate."
"My God," McLanahan muttered. All three airmen finally
appeared to relax. They realized how very, very fortunate they
and the people on Quemoy were.
"Communications have been disrupted in the area because
of the blast, and there were some casualties, but there was only
minor damage to the island's defense systems," Chi-yang
went on. "In addition, our island garrisons are mostly under-
ground, so our forces are safe. If the Communists attempt an
invasion, they will still find a most formidable force opposing
them."
"With all due respect, sir, that carrier battle group is still
dangerous," Elliott said. "They sank two of your best war-
ships, and they can still mount a deadly invasion force against
Quemoy."
"Thanks to your brave efforts, it appears that the Commu-
nist fleet has stopped its northward progress and may even be
withdrawing from the area," Chi-yang replied. "It is true,
Quemoy has been crippled, but the Communists will not test
our resolve. It even appears that the carrier battle group is
being recalled all the way to Hong Kong, and that the ground
IL
FATAL T ER RAI N 209
and rocket forces along the Formosa Strait have been stood
down. A major catastrophe has been averted because of you,
and I again wish to thank you most sincerely."
"Dr. Chi-yang, was the captain of the K
in Men ordered to
go out there and take on that-carrier battle group all by itself'?"
McLanahan asked.
Chi-yang paused for a long moment, then sighed, lifted his
shoulders, and responded, "Captain Sung's orders were to
make contact with the Communists' battle group and warn
them not to approach Quemoy Tao. We do not know why he
opened fire on the battle group-and unfortunately, we may
never know. He may have believed that the firepower provided
by your aircraft could protect him. It matters little now, be-
cause we believe that it was the PLAN's intention to attack
with nuclear weapons in any case-in which case, Captain
Sung and his crew will be hailed as national heroes for saving
Quemoy Tao. As you will be.
"Before I terminate this conference, my friends, I must tell
you," Chi-yang went on, his voice choked by emotion now,
"that my father was a deputy liaison to General Claire Lee
Chennault and the American Volunteer Group, whom you call
the Flying Tigers, during the Great War of Liberation with
imperial Japan. He assisted many brave American Flying Tiger
fighter pilots to survive and fight to keep the Burma Road open
in our struggle against the Nipponese empire, before America
entered the Great War of Liberation.
"I am struck by the similarities between that time, sixty
years ago, and now. We Nationalists are no longer in control
of the mainland, as before, but the aggressors are our own
brothers, their minds tainted by the ugly stain of communism.
But we and you, our American friends, are still comrades in
arms now, just as we were then--even in t, as it was
then. General Samson, General Elliott, Col secre
one] McLanahan,
Major Cheshire, you and your fellow aviators are America's
new Flying Tigers, protecting the weak against the menace of
imperialism and Communist dictatorship. I am proud to con-
tinue my father's great mission. Thank you again, my young
American friends. Call on me whenever you need assistance,
and it shall be yours. I am your servant." The connection from
Taiwan terminated with the computerized voice announcing,
NOW DEPARTING, DR. CHI-YANG SHIH, TAIPEI, REPUBLIC OF